Review by Choice Review
Between 1890 and 1950, labor studies became the central focus of the 15 social scientists discussed in this book. These scholars connected their research and writings to the need to improve the status of black workers. Wilson (Univ. of Maryland) derives the term "segregated scholars" from the tension between the scholars' commitment to objectivity and the framework of racial oppression within which they labored. The pages devoted to W.E.B. Du Bois illuminate his break with Booker T. Washington as reflected in Du Bois's pioneering The Negro Artisan (1902), which allowed black workers to speak for themselves. Wilson's book is enriched by her stress on the groundbreaking work of black women scholars, several of whom took part in sessions of the Atlanta University Conference for the Study of Negro Problems. She notes that women students played a key role in Du Bois's research during his Atlanta years. Following incisive discussion of several scholars whose work spanned the Great Migration years, the author proceeds to Abram Harris and Charles Wesley, who employed new methods of methodological sophistication. Wilson asks why after 1950 a new generation of black labor scholars did not emerge. While the answers are by no means final, they should encourage further study. All in all, an outstanding piece of social science scholarship. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. H. Shapiro emeritus, University of Cincinnati
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
